Jazmyne Reede
by Jazmyne Reede
Summary: Just a spin-off that I came up with. The beginning is a little rough, I know, and I need to change some details and the title. This is a spin-off of the Night Huntress Novels by Jeanine Frost, but Jazmyne Reede is my own character. Thanks for reading!
1. Creation

Just because Bones is visiting I never see Edward at night. For some reason, they just can't stand each other, which is odd considering the gift they share. While Bones is his mortal (immortal?) enemy, he likes Vald just fine; though that might be because he likes the fact the Vald is pyrokenetic. He would be the one to find that interesting, as does Carlisle. Alice spends most of the night with Mencheres, probably because of their similar gifts. Cat, Emmett, and Jazz are always fighting, but that's just because they're all so competitive. During the day, when our visitors are "sleeping", our family is almost back to normal. We go to school, come home, do homework, clean house, all of that good stuff. Carlisle and Mencheres get along great, probably because they've both seen so much change in our world. It makes me wonder how well Aro and Mencheres would get along.

Bones has a new "lackey", as Emmett likes to call them. Her name is Jazmyne Reede. Here's how she came to be their 'lackey'.

Bones found her lying in the street, bleeding and dying. Cat was with him and couldn't stand to leave her lying there. They healed her wounds, so she'd survive the trip to their house, but it wasn't enough. She was already dying from blood loss. They were forced to turn her because they couldn't stand to see such a young life, only 17-years-old, wasted before she had a chance to actually live. When she awoke, Bones explained to her what happened and what she was. When he was done he asked if she wanted to continue living this way or if she would have preferred to die. Cat, overhearing this while she was looking for Bones to inform him that Spade was here, burst into the room before Jazmyne had a chance to even think about an answer.

Cat begged her to stay, "Please stay. I get lonely here in this huge house all by myself while Bones is gone for work, sometimes weeks at a time. It would be very nice to another soul in the house, which is way too big for just the two of us, even when Mencheres, Vald, Spade, and Ian come to visit at the same time, there's still a lot of unused rooms. Speaking of Spade, Bones, he's here."

Jazmyne looks at Cat, then back at Bones. "Who is _she_?

"That's my wife, Cat."

"Oh."

"So," Cat interrupts, "will you stay?"

"Well…"

"Oh, please, please, please!"

"Okay," Jazmyne finally gives in. "Just for a little while, I suppose."

"Should I put her in the blue or yellow room, Bones?"

"Why don't you let her choose? You could give her a tour of the house while you're at it," Bones replies.

"Alright, sounds like a plan. Spade's waiting in the foyer, by the way."

"Well, why didn't you tell him to go to the parlour and wait for me there?"

"I did, but he said it would take him two seconds to tell you why he stopped by, so he'd rather wait in the foyer."

"Very well, I can escort you two ladies to the parlour, but then I must not keep Spade waiting any longer. Shall we?" Bones asked, holding out an arm to each of the ladies.


	2. House Tour

Cat gave Jazmyne a tour of the house, ending with the guest bedrooms. Jazmyne choose the blue room, which was at the east end of the house, overlooking the orchard.

"Well, I'll just leave you to get settled in. If you need anything, I'll be in the study."

"Actually, could I ask you some questions?" Jazmyne asked.

"Of course! What would you like to know?" Cat asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"Well, did you find my purse when you found me?"

"Oh, yes, silly me for not thinking of giving it to you while we were in the study. I'll just run and get it real quick."

"No! I mean, that's alright, you don't need to get it right now. It can wait."

"Alright. Is there anything else you'd like to ask?'

"Well…"

"What is it, Jazmyne?"

"Would you mind at all running me to the nearest bank, so I can withdraw some money and then taking me to the store to buy some new clothes?"

"No, of course not! Would you like to go now or later?"

"Now, if you're not busy. Please"

"Alright, let's run to the study, grab your purse and find Bones and tell him where we're going and head out."


	3. Shopping, Gathering, and Hunting

After running into Bones and Spade in the foyer, Jazmyne and Cat headed out to do some shopping. Jazmyne seemed to know exactly what she wanted. On top of shirts and jeans, she brought some dresses, skirts, shoes, dress shoes, and undergarments. Then they headed for the check out and made one stop to buy a new watch. After all this, Jazmyne wanted to know if she could stop at her old house and get some of her things. Cat agreed to drive by and if no one was there, they could stop. They drove by once, twice, three times and saw no movement and no cars in the driveway. Luckily, Jazmyne's bedroom was in the back of the house, so they didn't need to worry about someone seeing them climbing into the window. Once in the room, Jazmyne immediately became aware of just how dirty her room was. Cat, climbing in behind her, didn't even blink an eye at the mess. _Typical teenager_ she thought. Jazmyne apologized for the mess and began picking up clothes and books, throwing them in bags that she found quickly, despite the mess. Cat warned her not to take enough that it made a noticeable difference.

"I know, I know. Don't worry, I won't," she said, exasperated.

"Alright. Do you need me to help?"

"Sure, could you go over to the CD's and grab the one's that say Jaz's mixes for me?"

"Not a problem. Anything else?"

"No, I think I got it all."

"Alright then, let's go."

After throwing the stuff out the window and running it all back to car, they started the car up and were almost far enough away to make it seem like they had just been driving down the street, when a red mustang pulled up behind the Volvo.

"Shit! That's my mother!"

"Jazmyne, language!"

"Sorry, but we're not going quite fast enough to pass for going down the street. We just better hope that she doesn't get our plate number and call the police, 'cause if she does, we're screwed."

They made it home without any incident and Bones said he hadn't heard any of their names on the scanner, but he'd keep listening just in case. Jazmyne and Cat dragged all Jazmyne's stuff upstairs and started putting it away. When they were done with that, Cat realized that Jazmyne still hadn't hunted, but hadn't said anything while they were in the store, surrounded by humans, which was quite amazing.

Just as she finished thinking this Jazmyne said "Thank God we got out of that store when we did. I don't think I could have gone much longer without attacking one of them."

"Would you like to go hunting, Jaz? Is it alright if I call you that?"

"Yes, to both. Is Bones going to hunt with us as well?"

"No, probably not, just because he doesn't like what I hunt."

"What do you hunt?"

"I hunt animals, 'cause I can't stand accidentally hurting innocent people. Bones doesn't really have a problem with it 'cause he says that he doesn't take enough to hurt them, but I just don't want to take the risk."

"That's…understandable. So, I take it I'm going to hunt out in the woods with you?"

"If you'd like. If you'd rather hunt in town, that's fine, Bones will just go with you."

"I think I'll go with you. To be honest, no offense, but he kind of scares me."

Cat laughs. "None taken. But why does he scare you?"

"I'm…I'm not sure. He just…does," Jaz said, confused, not at all sure why Bones scared her.

"I felt that way when I first met him, too. Now look at me, I'm his wife."

"I'll probably get used to him after a while. How well are you acquainted in the supernatural world? See, I used to know a vampire before I was turned. His name was Stefan Salvatore. Do you know him?"

"Stefan Salvatore…No, I can't say that I do. Let me ask Bones, he might. If not, he can ask around. It's amazing how many connections he has. I'm sure _someone_ will have at least heard of him. Were you friends with him? Or was it more, if you don't mind me asking."

"No, that's alright, I don't mind. I was…dating…him for a while, but it didn't work out. We were just friends when I… when I died. I hope I can find him. I was his only friend. See, everyone could tell he was different and that was enough to drive them away. But that was what drew me to him. I liked that he was different. He was glad that at least one person was willing to talk to him. We had almost every class together. We were in our last year at the local high school here in town. Will that make it easier to find him?"

"Yes, Jaz, it most definitely will. While we're on the subject of school, how far were you from graduating?"

"I was, let's see here… I would have graduated on June 4th."

"Hmmm… the news will have gone around by Monday that you're dead, so you can't just go back to school and pretend that nothing happened. Do you happen to know where Stefan lives? Maybe we could pay him a visit, so at least he knows you're not dead and won't be as lonely."

"Yeah, I used to hang out there all the time and we'd get our homework done together. His was the only house that my parents would let me stay at overnight if I called that night, not having to worry 'cause they knew that we wouldn't do anything stupid."

"Would you like to go pay him a visit or hunt first?"

"Let's hunt. We could run to his house by going through the woods instead of coming back here and grabbing the Volvo or the Harley. Would that be alright?"

"Yep, that's fine. Just let me go change shoes and tell Bones and I'll meet you in the back of the orchard, 'Kay? See you in five?"

"See you in five."


	4. Visiting Some Friends

After running for about five minutes, they stopped. Jaz quickly caught a cougar and Cat a coyote soon after. Then, after about ten more minutes of running quickly and quietly through the woods, they came to a clearing. There, in the middle of the clearing, was a house, which Cat quickly recognized as the one Ian had lived in when he was pretending that his name was Liam Flannery.

"How long has Stefan lived here?" she asked Jaz.

"Since he first moved here, 'bout a year ago. Why?"

"The first time I saw this house, I was working for a special unit of the FBI. I was here to kill Ian, who just happened to be Bones' sire. I drove him out, but I just assumed that he came back after we were done searching the house. Guess not."

"Nope, guess not."

"Shall we see if he's home?'

"Might as well, seems as we came this far. No point in stopping now, is there?"

"Not that I can see."

Cat decided to let Jaz cross the clearing and enter the house by herself, seeming, as this was her friend. Just as she moved back into the shadows, Jaz turned.

"Are you coming or what?"

Cat, smiling to herself, skipped out of the shadows and to Jaz's side.

"Let's get this over with."

"The way you're acting, you'd think I was going to drag you under a bus," Jaz said, laughing. "He's not bad at all. Actually, he's a lot like you, with the animal, or vegetarian, as he likes to call it, diet and all. I think, no, I KNOW you'll like him."

After this little speech, Jaz slides up to the door and knocks. After about 20 seconds or so, the door slowly opens. A man, a vampire actually, that neither of them has ever seen before opens the door.

"What do you want?" the vampire asks.

"Um…is Stefan home? We'd like to see him, if that's alright."

"Sure, one sec. Yo! Stef! Some girls are here to see you!" he hollers over his shoulder. "Come on in," he tacks on.

"There's no need to yell, Damon, I can hear you just fine. Who's…Jaz? Is that you?" Stefan pauses in the middle of buttoning his shirt on his way down the stairs when he sees that it's Jaz at the door. "How is it that you're here…alive? You were stabbed to death on Thursday. Oh, who's this?" he asks as he catches sight of Cat. "You look familiar. The Red Reaper perhaps? A little out of costume, aren't you?" he teases.

"Yep, the Red Reaper, that's me. Sorry to disappoint you, but I only dress up when I'm on a job. So you're Stefan Salvatore. Is that your real name or just another fake one?" Cat asks.

"Wait a minute. You two know each other? But you said you didn't know him, Cat. Were you lying to me?" Jaz interrupts.

"No, I wasn't lying to you. I don't know Stefan. I met him in Philly, while he was pretending that his name was Paul Westerly. I was looking for Mencheres because Bones was in trouble, and the only thing I could think of to get him to come to me was to use my public, at least in the vampire world, name, the Red Reaper. It was in a vamp bar there that I met Paul."

"I see. Well, as you can see Stefan, I'm not dead. Have you heard of Bones? He's a vampire that lives about 20 minutes from here on foot?"

"Bones? Yeah, I think so. How is he relevant to your being alive right now?"

"He was the one who found me dying. He healed my wounds and was forced to turn me into a vampire or I would have died. When I arose, he explained to me what happened and what I'd become. He gave me a choice: I could continue my life as a vampire, or he would kill me. I chose to live. This is only my first day after arising," Jaz explained.

"I see. Well, looks like I owe you twice over, Reaper. Didn't you say that you were married to him when we met in Philly? And then you saved my life from a rogue, so I still owe you for that." Stefan said.

"Yep, looks like it. Sucks to be you don't it?" Cat exclaimed.

"It sucked to be me before I owed anybody anything, Reaper. Or are you forgetting that I'm a vampire?" Stefan joked.

"Is anyone going to explain to me what's going on?" Damon asked.

"Oh, sorry Damon. Damon, this is Jazmyne Reede and her friend the Red Reaper. Surely you've heard of the Red Reaper?" Stefan inquired.

"Of course I've heard of the Red Reaper! What do you think? I live in a cage? Nice to meet you both. Why don't we continue this conversation in the living room, so we're all more comfortable?" Damon asked slipping on his polite 'skin', now that he knew one of the vamps at the door could kill him before he had a chance to react.

"Of course. That would be wonderful." Jaz replied, wondering why Damon seemed so polite all of the sudden.

Cat, realizing why Damon was being so polite, chuckled. Jaz and Cat stayed at the Salvatore's till there were only 20 minutes till sunrise, when Cat spoke up.

"I hate to leave, but Jaz and I need to get home. Bones will be wondering why we've been gone so long and morning's coming. Believe me, you don't want to see Bones when he's worried and morning's coming. Don't worry, Jaz, we can come back tomorrow night," she added, catching sight of the look on Jaz's face. "If that's alright with you, Stefan, Damon?" she added, not wanting to assume anything.

"No, of course you're both welcome to come tomorrow. Why don't you bring some of your weapons, Cat? I know Damon's dying to see how he holds up to the infamous Red Reaper," Stefan suggested.

"Sounds like a plan, Stefan. See you tomorrow. Stefan, Damon," Cat replied, nodding to both of them. "Come on Jaz, we better get going or we won't make it back."

"Alright. Bye Stefan. See you, Damon," Jaz said, only slightly reluctant.


	5. Unexpected Visitors

When they got home, there were three other cars in the drive. Jaz recognized the black Ferrari as Spade's, but she didn't know who owned the forest green Porsche or the bright yellow Corvette. Whoever they were had good taste in cars. Cat, seeing the cars, sighed and wondered what was going on this time. They walked through the door. Jaz stood in the foyer, not sure if she could go to her room or if she had to meet the guests.

Cat, seeing her indecision, said, "Come on, Mencheres and Ian would love to meet you."

"Okay, why not?"

Cat smiled. She was glad Jaz hadn't decided to go to her room. She knew only one thing was going to happen if Spade, Ian, and Mencheres were all here at the same time: they needed Bones, and possibly her, to help them with something. Personally she hoped that they didn't need her because Jaz was in no condition to stay by herself yet. While she could always stay with the Salvatore brothers, Cat wasn't quite sure that they would know what to do if something happened to Jaz.

Walking into the parlour was like stepping back in time. At least that was Jaz thought. The image was made even more real since all the men were wearing formal wear and stood up upon their entry.

"Ah, Kitten. Glad to see you've finally returned," Bones said, strolling up to them. After taking Cat's hand and brushing his lips over it, and doing the same to Jaz, winking at her as he did so, he turned back to the men. "Gentlemen, I believe introductions are in order."

"Yes, Crispin, I believe they are," the man by the fireplace said arrogantly. He reminded Jaz of a Duke or Baron in one of the historical romances she had read; all stuck up, thinking he was better than everyone else. He sure looked and sounded like one with his English accent, slightly wavy chestnut hair, clear turquoise eyes and his impeccably cut Armani suit, fitting him so well, it could only be tailor made.

"Ian, let's not be rude. Is that any way to talk in front of a lady, let alone, two women such as these?" the man by the bookcase scolded.

_This must be Mencheres if the one with the chestnut hair and turquoise eyes must be Ian,_ Jaz thought.

"No, Mencheres," he replied, confirming Jaz's thoughts. Turning to the ladies he said, "Forgive me, Cat. I forgot myself for a moment."

"Guys, there's no need to be so formal. If you're trying to impress Jaz, consider it done. You're all so impressive by being yourselves anyway. What's all this show for?" Cat replied.

"Just a bit of role-playing, Kitten," Bones answered.

"Role-playing? What's going on? _Please_ tell me I'm not involved in one!" Cat exclaimed.

"Don't worry, Cat. You won't be needed for this mission." Mencheres interrupted. Turning to Jaz he said, "Forgive them for being so rude. I don't believe we've been properly introduced yet. I am Mencheres, Ian's sire, Bones' grandsire. You must be Jazmyne Reede, Bones' newest childe."

"Y…Yes, I am. How did you know?" Jaz stuttered.

"You were quite a good conversation starter, my dear. That fool over by the fireplace is Ian, by the by," Mencheres replied.

"Hey! Just because you're my sire doesn't mean you get to insult me without good reasoning. Forgive me, Angel. I am Ian Flannery. I noticed Mencheres didn't include Spade in his introduction. Have you met him already?" Ian asked.

"We met this afternoon, before her and Cat so conveniently disappeared." Spade said, finally contributing to the conversation.

"Oh, I see. Well gentlemen, where were we before the ladies appeared?" Ian said, relaxing somewhat now that Spade had said something.

"Just a moment. Kitten, where were you guys this evening? You told me you were going hunting and then you were gone for four hours. I know that you weren't hunting that whole time, because I can smell other men on you. What happened?" Bones asked, angry.

"Well, I didn't lie, if that's what you're getting at. We did go hunting and Jazmyne wanted to see if Stefan Salvatore was home. He's a vampire as well, just a different…breed…I suppose you could say. He lives about 20 minutes through the wo-"

She was suddenly cut off by a loud thump as Jazmyne slumped to the floor, dead to the world.

"Must be sunrise." Ian commented.

"Really? I thought it was sunset!" Cat exclaimed, pissed that Bones didn't trust her, even after all these years.

"Kitten, darling, just calm down. Mencheres, would you mind terribly taking her to her room? She's in the blue one at the end of the east wing, overlooking the orchard," Bones said steadily, even though he knew why Cat was mad.

"Not at all. Up you go, Jaz," Mencheres said, hoisting Jaz into his arms.

"Now, what were you saying before the sun rose, Kitten?" Bones asked as Mencheres left the room.

"Hum? Oh! Well, we went hunting and Jaz wanted to see if Stefan Salvatore, one of her friends from school who just happens to be a vampire. I said sure. He's only a 20 minute run…mmm…northeast of here, in Ian's old house. Mencheres, do you know Stefan Salvatore?" Cat asked as he strolled back into the room.

"Stefan Salvatore? No, can't say that I do. Do either of you know him?" He asked Spade and Ian.

"No," they replied in unison.

"Oh, well. I'm sure you'd all like him. How about the name Paul Westerly? Does that ring any bells?"

"Paul Westerly. Wasn't he the one you saved from that rogue vamp a few years back in Philly?"

"Yes, that's him. Turns out he's real name's Stefan Salvatore. And the reason you smell more than one on me is that is brother, Damon, was there as well. They've been living there for about a year, Jaz says. Anyway, we stopped and we got talking. I didn't even realize how long we'd been there until I glanced at my watch. I told Jaz that we could go back tomorrow night. Is that alright with you, Bones?" Cat tacked on at the last second. She really hated asking him for permission for anything, but decided that she'd better seeming as he was leaving for only God knows how long.

"Yes, that's fine, if you think it's safe. Mencheres, Spade, Ian, and myself are going to be leaving at dusk for…something. I really wish I could tell you, I really do, but we're not exactly sure what we're doing. All we know is that we're going to England to do something for the President. He sent Don a note, and he sent it to Mencheres. We'll receive more instructions when we arrive in London," Bones explained.

"Unfortunately, we've also been instructed that we are to have no contact with anyone apart form those on the mission with us," Mencheres added. "And as we have no idea what we're going to be asked to do, where this will take us, and how long we'll be gone, I'm afraid that you now know everything we know, Cat."

"As a precaution, you are not allowed to take your personal cell phones with you," Ian said, reading from a slip of paper he had pulled out of his pocket. "All agents will be given a phone with all the numbers needed for this mission programmed in them upon their arrival."

Cat, realizing that she would have no contact with any of the men in the room for however long this mission lasted, turned and walked out of the room in a daze. Bones started to go after her, but stopped when Mencheres said that she probably just need some time to think about what was going on. Realizing he was right, Bones returned to the men, put his head in his hands and asked if they thought she would be okay.

"She'll be fine, now that she won't be alone in this house while we're gone. Don't worry about her. Why don't you call Vald and have him check on her while we're gone?" Mencheres suggested, knowing how hard it was to have no contact with those you loved. Bones placed his call and explained to Vald what was going on and got him to agree. When he had finished, Bones returned to the parlour and the men and resumed the conversation.


	6. Conversations

Meanwhile up her room, Cat was sitting on the bed, looking at a picture of her, Bones, and Vald. They were laughing at something Vald had said. All three of them were so happy, so carefree. Was this going to be the last time she every saw any of them? She had gone through with thinking Bones was dead once before, but she didn't think she could stand to go through it again. If she did, it was likely to be much worse this time around, because Mencheres, Ian, and Spade would die for Bones, since he had a wife to return to and none of them did. She loved those men like brothers. She had trained with them, cried with them, laughed with them, fought with them. They were her life since being turned and the five years of her life before she was turned. She wouldn't be able to stand losing one, let alone all of them! There was a soft knocking at the door, breaking her train of thought.

"Cat? It's Vald. May I come in?" a soft voice asked through the door.

"Of course. Just a moment," she replied, relief flooding her voice when she realized that Vald, Eric, and Bill weren't going on the mission. At least she would have them to lean on if the mission when wrong. Letting out a sigh of relief, she got up off the bed, returning the picture to the nightstand and unlocking the door.

Vald was worried, that much was clear to Cat when she opened the door and saw his brows drawn together. Stepping aside, Cat let Vald into the room, shutting and locking the door behind him.

"Is everything alright, Vald? Now that's a stupid question. Why would anything be alright right now? Now I'm rambling, aren't I?"

Vald smiled, soft but sad. "There's something I need to tell you."

"Oh, no. Please don't say what I think you're going to say! Vald, please, if you love me at all, you won't say it!" Cat pleaded.

"I'm afraid it's true, Cat. They need me to go with them and Eric as well. If afraid Bill's going to be the only one here with you, unless you can get a hold of any of the Cullen's, but I don't think you'll be able to. Bones tried all of their numbers and no one answered," Vald replied.

"I'd prefer if Bill went instead of you," Cat said sadly.

"Why? Don't you like Bill?" Vald asked, confused and surprised.

"Oh, I like him just fine, that's not the problem. The problem is if something happens to me or Jazmyne, he won't know what to do as much as you would," she explained.

"I see. That's a very good point. Have you mentioned this to Bones? No, of course you haven't, you only just found out that I was going. Hmmm…I wonder…" he trailed off.

Suddenly, there was a loud knocking at the door. Both turned to look at it, Vald automatically moving in front of Cat, while she walked slowly backward toward the closet to retrieve weapons for her and Vald. She could have turned, knowing Vald would protect her back, but she wanted to be able to see who or what was coming through the door before she turned her back, so she knew what she was up against.

"Katherine Christine Russell! You open this door THIS INSTANT!" they heard Bones bellow from the hall, ramming the door, causing the walls to shake and pictures to fall.

Turning to Cat, Vald raised one eyebrow in a silent question. Nodding, Cat continued her path to the closet. If Bones was yelling, it was never a good sign. She was glad Vald was in the room to help her with Bones if things got out of hand.

Slipping silently up to the door, Vald put his hand against the knob, waiting till Cat got her weapons out before he unlocked the door. Unlocking it, he stepped back so he was flat against the wall, so Bones wouldn't see him right away. Cat had spread her weapons out on the bed and was sitting cross-legged with a soft cloth in her hand, polishing her knives.

Seeing her just sitting there, Bones exploded. "WHAT IN GOD'S NAME ARE YOU DOING WITH THE DOOR LOCKED! THIS IN MY HOUSE, NOT YOURS!"

"Funny, last time I checked, both our names were on the deed for the house, grounds, and the vehicles," Cat said calmly.

"Yes, well…" Bones stuttered, instantly calming down when he realized that she had all the weapons out, even her wood coated silver stake. Vald, still against the wall, chuckled silently and shook his head at how easily she calmed him down. Sliding out of the room when he knew that Cat wouldn't need his help, he shut the door behind him. Pressing his ear against the door, he heard mumbling, so he knew that everything would be alright. If one of them started yelling, he could always be up the stairs and into the room in 5, maybe 6, seconds. Smiling to himself, he made his way down the stairs to the parlour to tell the boys that Bones might be a while…


	7. Life Threatening Fight

"Good. Now do it again, Damon," Cat instructed, holding her steel blade a little tighter. His last move had almost made her lose her grip on it. He had improved a lot in the past three years. God, she missed Bones so much. Since he left, she'd been taking Jaz over to Stefan and Damon's at night so Stefan could keep Jazmyne caught up in her studies and Damon could improve his fighting skills. Although Stefan was the less violent one, he had been the better fighter out of the two, so she had started Damon off with Stefan while she helped Jazmyne with her schoolwork. Eventually, they became too evenly matched and she had to pair off with Damon herself, which she didn't mind as much as she probably should have. It had been to long since she'd been in a good fight, so she was a little rusty, but it came to her naturally. When Jaz and Stef had finished with that day's schoolwork, they would come out and work with Damon and Cat. Jaz was a natural born fighter, seeming to know what her opponent was going to do, when they were going to do it, and how to block it. It was amazing watching her and Stefan fight. She always won, even though he'd been fighting longer. Soon she'd have to bring Bill in to see if it was just Stefan that was letting her win or Jaz was just that good. Maybe Jasper would be willing to help, but she still couldn't get a hold of any of the Cullen's. She'd just have to hope that Bill was willing to help her.

All of the sudden, Cat felt a cool blade against the skin at her throat. "Okay, Damon. Stand down," she said. But instead of disappearing, the blade cut into her throat! Looking at Damon's face, she realized that letting the fight go on for so long was dangerous. Damon was beyond reasoning. Cat felt herself leaning away from the blade, trying to get away. Any attack that she made with her blade would be useless, as she couldn't get it into a lethal position without him noticing and blocking it, or worse, taking her knife. Kneeling now, her eyes looking wildly around, hoping that Jaz or Stefan were out watching them. Recognizing that there was no one to help her, she pressed her back to the ground, looking into Damon's eyes, hoping that he would realize that he'd won. With the blade cutting deeper and deeper into her throat, she dare not make a sound, dare not move a muscle, for fear that it would cause him to just cut her head off in one swift movement. If she kept still and he kept up the slow cutting, Stefan and/or Jaz would come out to see why it was so quiet and pull him off of her. With the blade just inches from cutting through the back of her neck, the pressure ceased a quickly as it had begun. Someone had pulled Damon off of her! One second there was no one standing over her, the next Mencheres was there, easing the blade out of her neck, trying not to make it worse. She heard voices. _One, two, three, four…Yes all five men are back! Thank the heavens that they all returned safely_ she thought. With all the commotion outside, it was only inevitable that Stefan and Jaz would come out to see what all the ruckus was about. Catching site of Cat on the ground, Jaz flitted over to her side.

"Is she going to be alright?" Jaz asked Mencheres.

"If the wound is clean, which it looks to be, and she's fed recently, she should be fine. You two usually hunt together, correct?" he asked.

"Yes, always. The last time we hunted was about three days ago," she said as Mencheres opened his mouth to ask when the last time they hunted was.

"I wish it was a little more recent, but she should still have enough left to mend, providing she hasn't had any wounds?"

"None that I know of," Jaz said, thinking back.


	8. Demonstrations

All the while, on the other side of the clearing, Spade and Ian were holding Bones so he wouldn't kill Damon, while Vald had a ring of fire around Damon to keep him from running. Stefan jogged up to them.

"What did you do this time, Damon?" he asked, exasperated, not making any move to help him or hurt Bones.

"I…I'm not sure. One minute Cat and I were fighting, neither of us winning, the next this guys at my throat, threatening to rip my stones off and feed them to me if she doesn't make it and if she does, he was going to teach me my place, whatever that means," Damon explained, more than slightly confused by the whole thing. "Then he's gone, but I can't go anywhere because there's a ring of fire surrounding me that came out of no where."

Cat, healed, but weakened, made her way over to Bones. "Hey, babe, it's okay. Look, I'm fine," she said soothingly, placing both hands on his face so he was looking at her. "Bones, calm down, please. I haven't seen you in years! Are you allowed to tell me what you did on this mission?" she asked, attempting to distract him.

Calming him self now that he saw Cat was alright, he nodded once to both Spade and Ian that he was alright now. When they released him, he wrapped his arms around his wife.

"Oh my Goodness, Kitten. Thank the heavens your alright! When I saw you lying there, his knife in your neck and you not moving, I thought for sure that he'd killed you. I didn't even stop to think, I just acted," Bones said, relieved.

Nodding to Vald that he could release the vampire that had been on top of Cat, he let go of his wife, keeping one arm wrapped around her waist. Turning to Damon, he asks "Who are you and what were doing on top of my _wife_?"

"I already told Stefan what I did and he said my name, do you seriously need me to repeat it?" Damon said arrogantly, now that there was no fire.

"Don't make me repeat my threat, 'cause if I do, I'll have to take immediate action, and trust me, you _really_ don't want to find out what that means," Bones countered, thinking _the ball's on one this one _the whole time.

"Now, Bones, honey, must you fight already? I mean, you just got back. It was an accident really, completely my fault. I wasn't paying attention. We were training, you should see Jazmyne with a throwing star!, and my mind wandered. Like I said, my fault. Any by the way, this is Damon, and that young man over there, talking to Mencheres, with one arm around Jaz, oh that's nice, I didn't know they were back together, is Stefan, Damon's brother," Cat interrupted.

"You've been teaching Jazmyne how to fight? Why didn't you have Jasper teach her? Have you not been able to get a hold of any of the Cullen's?" When Cat nodded, he continued, "Hmmm…I hope everything is okay with them. I haven't heard anything from any of them in almost four years. Why didn't you call Bill? He would have helped."

"I was going to in about two days, but now that your home, would any of you mind staying and helping train Jaz, Stefan, and Damon with me?" Cat asked, turning to all the men.

Vald was the first to answer. "It would be an honor, milady," he said gallantly, bowing as he spoke.

"Oh, cut it out, Vald!" Cat replied, laughing.

"Vald? I know naught of this Vald you speak of," Vald replied, giddy now that he was back home.

"Vladimir Tepesh! You knock that off this instant," Mencheres scolded, sounding just like Cat remembered. "I would be glad to help you as well, especially if it means I get to knock some sense into one of these fools," he continued.

"You probably will, Mencheres, because I'll need some of you to show them what a real fight looks like, what will happen to them, and how to take on numerous opponents," Cat explained.

"Excellent," Mencheres said, rubbing his hands together eagerly. "When do we start?"

"Right now, if you guys want," Cat answered, amused. "Damon, Stefan, Jaz, pay attention. Mencheres, are you going to go against Vald, Bones, Ian, and myself, or would you like Bones to go against the group?"

"Whichever Bones is more comfortable with. We all fight well as a group, so it doesn't matter who fights against the group, we all step up to fill in the empty spots when one of us gets injured, so It'll be no different than that," Mencheres said.

"I'll go against the group," said a voice from the shadows behind Jaz, Stefan, and Mencheres.

Turning towards the voice Cat said, "Jasper, I'm so glad to hear from you finally. Has everything been okay with everyone? And are you sure you want to do that? I mean, with Vald here and all?"

"Yes, we'll be fine," a new voice chirped from behind Jasper as two forms, one tall and blonde, the other short and dark haired, stepped out from the shadows.

"ALICE!" Cat squealed, racing across the clearing to tackle Alice in a hug.

Getting up from the ground and helping Cat up, Alice said, jokingly "Well, didn't see that one coming."

Everyone laughed and then Jasper said, "Of course not, Hun. She hadn't planned to do that until she realized you were here, which was only two seconds before she tackled you, so even if you had seen it, you wouldn't have had enough time to move out of the way, as it were."

"Oh shut up! You over think everything. God, no wonder they moved you up in rank so fast, nobody wanted to keep you around!" Alice joked.

"No, they moved me up because I deserved it," Jasper shot right back

"All right you two. Knock it off. You can argue later. Right now we need to get to work. Ready? Jaz, Damon, Stef, you guys watching?" Cat called.

"I don't want you fighting so soon after being injured, Kitten," Bones said at the same time that Jasper said "Wait, I'm watching?"

"Bones, I'm fine and I can protect myself. Ian! Shut it! And Jasper, you and Alice will be fighting. Perhaps some introductions are in order. Jazmyne, Stefan, Damon, could you please come here for a moment?" Cat asked.

Gliding across the field, one after the other, Mencheres, Jazmyne, Stefan, and Damon all joined the larger group in the middle of the clearing. After everyone was introduced, Jaz, Stef, and Damon were all directed to one side of the clearing out of the way, Jazz and Alice to another end, and Cat, Bones, Mencheres, Spade, Ian, and Vald standing across the clearing from them, the three groups making a triangle.

On no signal, Jazz and Alice started walking towards the larger group, Alice making sure to cover Jasper's back, while at the same time, covering her own. At the same time, the larger group spread out in a fan formation, making sure that Jazz and Alice had no escape. Realizing they were surrounded, Alice and Jazz went back-to-back, ready for an attack from any direction. Suddenly, a wall of fire shot up all around them, separating them from the larger group. Knowing Cat had fed from Vald, allowing her to walk through the flames as well as Vald, Alice began searching the future for an attack. Not seeing one in the immediate future, Alice relaxed. Feeling Alice relax behind him, Jasper relaxed as well. As soon as he did so, Cat walked through the flames toward Jasper. At the same time, Vald glided towards Alice. Having anticipated the attack, Jasper was ready for Cat, but Alice, used to relying on her gift more than instinct, wasn't ready for the attack and didn't block Vald's strike in time. The knife couldn't do any damage to her, which was why her and Jazz had volunteered to fight the group, but it could ruin her clothes. Since she didn't block the strike, the knife slashed through her custom-made designer shirt. Angry that Vald had ruined her shirt, Alice left her spot at Jasper's back, Vald quickly took advantage of this and closed off the circle of fire so that just him and Alice were enclosed. Jasper, seeing the fire drop from everywhere but behind him, used what few seconds he had to move away, as his instincts told him to. Leaving his back open was preferable to being thrown into the fire. Worrying about Alice wasn't good, but he couldn't help it, even though he knew she could protect herself, although she had relaxed and then they'd been attacked, but he wouldn't dwell on that. He had a fight to win…


	9. Frustrations

Hours later, the fight finally over (Mencheres, Vald, Spade, Ian, Bones, and Cat won, but only by a small margin), everyone was sitting in Bone's and Cat's parlour, laughing and talking like nothing had happened. The only sign that something had happened was that Alice was wearing one of Jaz's shirts, but it wasn't that noticeable, since they were the same size, color, and style. One had to look closely to notice that it wasn't designer. Having been updated on the Cullen's, Mencheres, Vald, Ian, Spade, and Bones were telling everyone what they did on the mission and who was behind it all. Cat was listening and refilling drinks as they were needed. Every time she would change position, Bone's would follow her with his eyes, couldn't take them off of her, but no one could really blame him since he'd been gone for three years.

Cat couldn't take her eyes off Bones. She just wished that everyone would leave so her and Bones would have the house to themselves for once. Jaz had planned to spend the night over at Stefan's and no one had a problem with that.

His hair was different than when he'd left. Now it was honey-brown instead of the platinum blond from before. It was longer as well, curling over his ears instead of hugging his head like a sleek helmet. Eyes so deep brown they were nearly black bored into hers whenever they happened to meet, which was often.

Bone's gaze devoured hers. Finally everyone left and she was picking up glasses and plates and returning them to their proper place after washing them when Bones walked silently into the room behind her.

"Hallo, Kitten."

His voice was as smooth as she'd remembered it, that English accent more pronounced. When she jumped, Bones laughed, a low seductive ripple of the air. Bones traced the inside of his lower lip with his tongue as his eyes slid over her form. Their heat seemed to rub against her skin.

She sought to find a distraction. Anything other than focusing on how much she'd missed being in his arms again. This felt so similar, de-ja-vu even, probably because the same thing had happened when she saw him for the first time in four and a half years after she had left him for his own protection almost 30 years ago. She couldn't stand to see him be killed because of her. At least they weren't fighting like that time; she didn't think she could handle that. Suddenly, music started playing in the background, a slow, sweet song. Cursing the fact that everyone had left and she had no more dishes to do, Bones led her to the middle of the kitchen so they could dance. He moved closer than a waltz called for, close enough that she could feel his body dipping into hers in time with the music. The feel of his muscles moving in sinuous ripples under his clothes made her hands clench. Now she was fighting back something other than tears as she reminded herself that she needed to retain her dignity, even if for her own sake. His nostrils flared. Inwardly she cursed. While she could fake cool and calm all she wanted, he was a vampire. He'd be able to tell from one whiff how he was affecting her.

"Perchance you did miss me after all," he said low, flecks of green appearing in his eyes.

Cat pretended to be blasé. "Don't get flattered, you're just a good dancer. Apparently Aravella seemed to think so, too."

"Hearing about me dancing with Aravella was the least you deserved after I had to watch the leech fawn all over you," Bones replied curtly. "Really, Kitten, what were you thinking, leading him on like that? Jazmyne has bigger balls than Damon."

"His balls are fine!" Cat snapped, then flushed. Hell if she knew, and _God_, _did I just say that?_

Bones snorted and twirled her in a circle before yanking her close. "Right. No wonder you're so hot around me. I reckon you've had a better time shagging yourself than him. Must be frustrating."

His hips were brushing hers as he taunted her. Anger flared in Cat, covering her lust. Now way was she going to admit that she hadn't slept with Damon or, hell, anyone since Bones left. Frustrating? That didn't even begin to describe what Cat was feeling.

But two could play the taunting game. Cat hitched a leg up, curling it around his hip, and gave a hard circular twist against him that had his gaze turning a flat, glowing green.

"Looks like I'm not the only one who's frustrated, Mr. Optical Hard-on. Might want to tone your eyes down. Someone might come in."

Bones closed his eyes, then he locked his hands around Cat's waist and bent until his mouth touched her ear.

"Careful, luv. I might be angry with you, but that doesn't mean I don't still want you. So if you do that again, I'll shag you right here, right now, and sod anyone who wants to watch."

His sudden hardness below emphasized that he wasn't making an idle threat. That scared Cat—and turned her on in ways she didn't even want to contemplate.

Bones took in a long breath. Cat shivered, knowing that since vampires didn't need to breathe, he was inhaling the traitorous scent of her desire.

"Oh, Kitten…" His voice deepened. "Now you're just daring me, aren't you?"

She was saved from a reply—or worse—when there was a sudden change of energy in the surrounding area. Bones felt it, too, a lot clearer than she did. He tensed and his eyes snapped open, no longer green, but hard brown orbs.

"Damn it, Eric!"


	10. Missed the Most

Praising whatever higher being was watching out for her for Eric's timing, Cat leaned back against the counter, hand to her heart, trying to compose herself before she was called to the foyer, parlour, or hall or the men came into the kitchen. Spinning around, Cat splashed water on her face, trying to cool her flaming face. Patting her face dry, she unexpectedly heard footsteps behind her. Only one set, a set she knew well. Out of the blue, Bones' hands were on her waist, whirling her around again to face him, pressing her up against the ledge of the sink. Then, instead of beginning where they'd left off, he just stared into her eyes. Staring back into his eyes, Cat was surprised by what she saw. Instead of the glowing emerald eyes she was expecting, she saw deep brown eyes, so brown they were almost black, filled with amazement, love, and, something she never thought to see in his eyes, gratitude.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she asked quietly "What did Eric want?"

Instead of answering her, Bones leaned forward and rested his forehead on hers, sighing and closing his eyes. "Do you know how much I missed this? Holding you in my arms?" he whispered.

Touched, Cat felt tears welling up her eyes. That was something else she never expected, to hear that he missed her, missed holding her in his arms. She had always known that he loved her, she had no doubts about that, but it was nice when he said things like that. Removing one hand from around his neck, she placed in gently against his cheek. "I missed this too, Bones. But you know what I missed more?" As his eyes slowly opened to look at her again, she leaned forward and touched her lips softly to his. "That."


End file.
